From No. 1 pick to castoff

Jeffri Chadiha, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, March 3, 1999

If a deal can be agreed upon, Jim Druckenmiller could be one of the next 49ers to be playing elsewhere next season.

Both the 49ers and Druckenmiller's agent, Gary Wichard, spoke with the Miami Dolphins last week about a possible trade for the second-year quarterback. However, Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson, though initially intrigued by the prospect of acquiring Druckenmiller, has backed away now, leaving Wichard and the 49ers searching for another potential suitor. Johnson apparently wasn't impressed with Druckenmiller's development.

"I like him as a person and I think he's a very good competitor," Johnson said. "But he's a ways away."

The New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons reportedly also have interest in Druckenmiller, but this story isn't just about where Druckenmiller might be playing next. Wichard is miffed at how Druckenmiller has been treated publicly and within the organization since becoming the team's first-round draft pick in 1997.

In Wichard's eyes, Druckenmiller has been unfairly criticized and has received no support from the 49ers' front office, particularly since Bill Walsh took over as general manager last month.

"Nobody has come to Jim's defense and said, "Hold on, he hasn't had an opportunity here,' " Wichard said.

"(49ers coach) Steve Mariucci and (offensive coordinator) Marty Mornhinweg have been supportive of Jim, but I don't know why anyone else in the front office hasn't come out and said he's still a work in progress."

Walsh didn't return phone calls on Tuesday and Mariucci wasn't available for comment, but it's been clear since Walsh's return to the team that Druckenmiller's future with the organization is precarious. For one, practically everyone associated with drafting him has denied responsibility for that move, including departed executives Carmen Policy and Dwight Clark, as well as Walsh.

When Walsh assumed his new title, the closest he came to complimenting Druckenmiller was saying he didn't know the young man. Walsh also said he had been high on both Jake Plummer and Pat Barnes, two of the other highly rated quarterbacks in that draft. That's where Wichard gets upset, so much so that he even referred to a USA Today article from February 1997, in which Walsh praised Druckenmiller's arm strength and said, "I don't see anybody in his category."

Still, Druckenmiller has had his problems progressing in the 49ers' system, and the team even tried to send him to the NFL Europe league this spring, a move that is unheard of for first-round quarterbacks. Druckenmiller and Wichard balked at that idea as well as the notion that Druckenmiller is failing to grow into an NFL quarterback. Wichard believes most of this scrutiny comes from comparisons between Druckenmiller and Plummer, a player Walsh has likened to 49ers great Joe Montana.

"His lack of success is based on Jake Plummer's moderate success in Arizona," Wichard said. "If Jake were in San Francisco and Jim were in Arizona, Jake would be carrying a clipboard for Steve Young and let's leave it at that."

In two seasons, Druckenmiller has started one game, a 15-12 win over St. Louis in the second game of his rookie year. He has played sparingly in four other contests, attempting 52 passes. Most of his playing time last season came during the exhibition season, when he failed to impress. Druckenmiller then spent all of the regular season as the emergency quarterback behind Young and Ty Detmer.

When the 49ers traded Detmer to Cleveland last month, it appeared Druckenmiller had a chance to stay on. Now that he's refused a stint in Europe and his name is appearing in trade talk, he can guess how this situation will play out for him.

"Jim's state of mind is that he's been overcoming things all his life," Wichard said. "The only thing that bothers him is that anything that's been said about him, he can't go out and prove otherwise. He's getting beat up without ever going on the field." &lt;